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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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Nashville, Tknn. : 

Southern Methodist Publishing House. 

printed for the author. 

1882. 



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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by 

CHAS. W. BRICKELL, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 



Fpeia©e. 



WHEN the shafts of envious criticism were 
hurled against Byron's genius, he had the 
courage to exclaim, "Prepare for rhyme; I'll 
publish, right or wrong! " And under the same 
circumstances, I would not hesitate to make the 
same statement. But I have not written this for 
the purpose of challenging criticism. I know that 
it is imperfect in a great many respects; and with 
all of its imperfections plainly before me, I throw 
it upon the great sea of public opinion, asking the 
reader to regard it as the production of a boy, 
and nothing more. I have friends who will give 
it their support; and if it finds its way into the 
Southern household, and gladdens any heart, the 
purpose for which I have written will have been 
accomplished. 

C[iAS. W. Brickell. 

Poplar Grove, Ark., Nov. 1, 1882. 



To Her 

WHO HAS HONORED ME WITH FRIENDSHIP, 

AND TO WHOM I AM INDEBTED FOR 

KIND INSTRUCTION, 

MISS S:;^iiiii^ il,^)5l^i?, 

Or Fayetteville, Ark,, 
I DEDICATE THIS LITTLE WORK AS A TRIBUTE 
OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT. • 



r 



OF that sweet land — " the Sunny South" — 
Where tunes the mocking-bird his mouth, 
And ever lifts his notes of praise 
All through the long, sweet summer days, 
Together with the mingled song 
Of other birds which floats along 
The breath of eve so sweet and slow, 
From mountain top to valley low ; 
Where nature with a willing hand 
Sweet flowers scatters o'er the land, 
Which ever lift their heads to greet 
The angel tread and dainty feet 



8 ROSETTA. 

Of Southern girls: sing, muse — descend, 
And all thy powers vouchsafe to lend 
To me who will attempt in rhyme 
To backward roll the tide of time. 
Old Virgil in the classic days 
Of Rome sung of her name and praise- 
Sung of her heroes brave and bold 
Who fought for empire and for gold, 
And of proud Venus from above 
Who gave ^neas Dido's love. 
But I sing not as Virgil sung 
Of heroes who were cast among 
The angry billows, where they roar 
Around the rocks from shore to shore, 
And ruiTGfed coast whose turrets rise 
Until they penetrate the skies; 



ROSETTA. 

Nor rovers who wide oceans crossed 

With vessels wrecked or tempest-tossed. 

But hark! I now invoke the Nine 

To lend their aid to my design, 

And give a strain both loud and bold, 

For I a story would unfold 

Of love. 'Tis of a boy, and girl 

With smiling face and ebon curl, 

And voice more charming far to him 

Than music made by seraphim, 

Or all the singing hosts above, 

E'en if they sung of boyhood's love. 

And he to her was dearer than 

The living lordly race of man; 

No matter what they might possess. 

They ne'er could gain her sweet caress; 



10 ROSETTA. 

The right to kiss her smiling face, 
And revel in her fond embrace, 
Was held for him, because she knew 
His heart to hers was ever true; 
She knew within his breast alone 
A heart pulsated to her own. 
Since childhood's happy, golden day 
Together they had joined in play, 
And in the field and rustic grove 
They each had told their childish love. 
At first 't was only pledged in fun. 
As through the meadows they would run 
To chase the butterflies away 
From roses in their childish play; 
But as they both in years advanced. 
And saw each other's love enhanced. 



ROSETTA. 11 

Their hearts, which had been joined in fun, 
Now melted gently into one. 
'T is love upon this sin-cursed earth 
That gives our happiness its birth : 
Without love, life a fraud would be, 
Deprived of all felicity — 
A shadow which we all would chase, 
A long and toilsome weary race, 
Where nothing would our gazes greet 
That makes life now so pure and sweet. 
The man that holds himself aloof 
From woman's love and mild reproof 
Had better died when he was young, 
Or else when grow^n himself had hung. 
The tale of woman's sins and fears 
Comes gliding down the stream of years, 



12 ROSETTA. 

And all who read it quick believe 
That God made woman to deceive. 
They credit her with all the pain 
The race has felt since Adam's reign 
Was broken by the direful wrath 
Of God, who put them in the path 
Which led from Eden's holy way 
To sin and death and sure decay. 
Men loudly boast this feeble tale, 
And say that woman 's weak and frail, 
But man, who lords creation through, 
Is strongest, bravest of the two. 
And raise his name and virtue high, 
And laud his praises to the sky. 
Poor woman was they say the cause. 
And one who first transgressed the laws 



ROSETTA. 13 

Of God, and brought us sin and woe, 
And all the ills the heart can know. 
Admitting that she broke the link 
'Twixt God and us, stop, man, and think: 
If all that tale of sin be true. 
Old Adam ate those apples too ; 
And worse than that, stood forth and lied, 
And thus his weakness strove to hide. 
And trembling did this tale repeat : 
" The woman ate, and made me eat." 
Although she ate that sacred fruit, 
And thus brought death to man and brute, 
She never charged the man with blame 
To save her honor and her name, 
Nor tried herself of guilt to rid 
By lying, as old Adam did. 



14 ROSETTA. 

But when she ate the apple sweet, 

And Adam overcame complete, 

She brought us Christ, whose blood was spilt, 

A ransom to redeem her guilt. 

I care not what we gained or lost. 

Or what this woman's follies cost, 

She ever bends us to her will. 

And we revere and love her still. 



(^l^apfeep 11. 



A SOUTHERN youth and Southern maid 
Were seated 'neath a rustic shade, 
And while the stars shone from above. 
They talked of pure, devoted love. 
The moonbeams in a silver sheet 
Threw shadow lace-work round their feet, 
As falling gently through the trees 
To kiss the silent evening breeze. 
The golden sun long since had set, 
But still they lingered, lingered yet; 
For ere he said the night's farewell, 

He needs to her a fact must tell. 
2 



18 PtOSETTA. 

She looked into his manly face, 
And quick beheld the solemn trace 
Of sadness, for he was distressed — 
His heart and spirit seemed depressed. 
She fondly gazed into his eye, 
And said to him: "My darling, why 
Do you this steady silence keep. 
And to the charms of nature sleep? 
Behold yon beaming stars divine, 
See how they in their beauty shine. 
And, thrown round all, the blue expanse, 
Which seems their beauty to enhance. 
And see yon regnant moon, so bright, 
Fling forth her rays of royal light; 
All nature now seems to rejoice. 
But yet you hold a silent voice. 



ROSETTA. 19 

Dost thou not hear the whippoorwill 
Pour forth his notes so loud and shrill, 
And every insect lend its strains 
To honor beauty where she reigns ? 
Ah! listen to the music made — 
'T is nature's evening serenade." 
He gazed into her rosy face, 
And pressed her in a fond embrace, 
Then left upon her cheek a kiss 
(Now who will censure him for this?); 
And then his sullen silence broke, 
And unto her he calml}^ spoke : 
"Rosetta, I have loved you long — 
This passion has been true and strong; 
And if I should remain with you, 
Your heart to mine would still be true; 



20 ROSETTA. 

But if I should be called away, 
For months and years perhaps to stay, 
Where you not soon my face could see, 
Say, would you still be true to me?" 
She leaned upon his manly breast. 
While he her raven locks caressed. 
At last she raised her curly head. 
And kissing him, she fondly said : 
^•'Be true to you! how can you doubt? 
I could not live a day without 
Some thought of you, my model boy; 
You are my hope, my life, my joy. 
No matter where your lot be cast, 
I loved you first, I'll love you last., 
And true to you I'll ever be — 
I only live to cherisli thee." 



ROSETTA. 21 

^''Tis well," he said, '^1 know your heart. 
I need not tell you we must part — 
How long 't will be I cannot know, 
But all I have now bids me go; 
And though to me 't will be a grief, 
From it I shall find some relief — 
Because I shall have this to keep 
And kiss each night before I sleep." 
As this he said a merry laugh 
Escnped him, and a photograph 
Of her he held before his fjice — 
It seemed to smile with modest grace. 
He looked into its face so fair. 
And kissed it with a pleasure rare. 
^'You say that you must go awn,y," 
She said, "for months and years to stay. 



22 ROSETTA. 

But still refrain from telling me 
Why you should go and absent be. 
Now do not longer wound my heart 
By telling me that we must part, 
And yet to me no reasons give, 
But bid me stay, and hope, and live. 
That you should go there is no shame 
Of guilt upon your heart or name; 
Then tell me, for I fain would know. 
The reasons why you have to go." 
"Tell you the reasons why?" he said, 
And smoothed the ringlets of her head, 
"Abe Lincoln loudly blows his blast, 
The States are now seceding fast, 
The war-dog with his bloody mouth 
Is loosened on Hhe Sunny South;' 



ROSETTA. 23 

The farm, the pulpit, and the bar. 

Have each and all prepared for war, 

And men are rising far and near, 

To fight for that they hold more dear 

Than life — our fair and ^ sunny land' 

From being crushed by Envy's hand. 

The North to us its pledge has broke, 

And forced upon our necks a yoke 

Extremely cruel and unjust. 

And one which crushes to the dust. 

The North and South with all their might 

Engage a long and bloody fight; 

The South strives for her will and wny, 

The North for power and for sway, 

And holds it true it should dictate 

To every free-willed Southern State. 



24 ROSETTA. 

I never Avill withhold my arm 
From striking those Avho do us harm; 
But bravely will I stand and fight 
The Vandals w4io on Southern right 
Would tread — e'en though I wounded lie 
Upon some field of blood to die. 
Before this bloody war is done, 
My bones may whiten in the sun; 
But if by fiite I should be spared 
For those to whom I am endeared, 
I swear, by yonder stars which burn 
With light, I will one day return. 
But if I am in battle slain, 
And prostrate lie upon some plain. 
Tell me that you no one will w^ed 
Until you know that I am dead; 



ROSETTA. 25 

For if I should this war survive, 
And both of us shouhl chance to live, 
I swear I will return to thee, 
And claim that heart you pledged to me." 
He gazed into the distant west. 
And on a star his eyes did rest; 
There seemed a smile upon its face. 
As it rolled on through boundless space. 
Why is it wlien man feels his love 
The world beneath, the world above. 
And every thing which meets his sight, 
Fills him with feelings of delight; 
The hill, the mountain, and the sky. 
And every breeze which passes by. 
Seems breathing in his pious soul 
A love for nature's perfect whole. 



26 ROSETTA. 

If once you rob the human heart 
Of love, you bid its joy depart, 
And cast us on Destruction's stream, 
And make our lives a foolish dream. 
'T is love that fills the soul with joy 
When ills and cares the heart annoy; 
And God has placed it in the breast, 
That man mny be forever blest. 
When sorrow wets the sparkling eye, 
And trouble makes the heart to sigh, 
Love calmly soothes the rising grief, 
And bids us find in her relief. 
To man it makes no difference where 
Or what may be his station here, 
He will an object early find 
On which to feast his heart and mind. 



ROSETTA. 27 

And when to love he pays respect, 

All nature wears a sweet aspect; 

The dullest place in all the earth 

Will to his mind give beauty birth. 

And thus it was this lover stood 

As if he was by nature wooed; 

The earth, the sky, the breeze of night, 

Seemed him to fill with sweet delight. 

He stood and gazed in rapture there 

Upon that single shining star, 

As if the impulse of his soul 

That orb held under its control. 

At last he left the shining star 

Which glittered in its home so far, 

And turned his thoughts from realms above 

Upon the lady of his love. 



28 ROSETTA. 

For slie it was who held the sway, 
And led him on from day to dny — 
The star to which he looked for light 
To guide him in the path of right. 
For who w^iil e'er this truth dissent, 
That Avoman is the element 
That buihls man up in faith and hope, 
And cheers him up life's rugged slope? 
She gives him will when he would siidc, 
And when he speaks she makes him think, 
And in a thousand different ways 
Compels his love and wins his praise. 
If to be perfect man aspires, 
Or to be great his soul desires, 
What hi2;her standard can he find 
Than woman's pure and noble mind? 



ROSETTA. 29 

Search all your annals o'er and o'er, 
And all the by-gone years explore, 
Then in this vast and broad domain 
Of time, which stretches like a chain 
From Eden's fair and sunny clime, 
Until it links the present time. 
Show what more noble relic stands 
Than that reared by a woman's hands. 
The noblest man, the grandest name 
That burns upon the scroll of fame, 
Glows brighter still, and still more fjiir. 
If w^oman helped to place it there. 
Who then can wonder why this boy, 
With admiration and with joy. 
Viewed her, the spirit of his dreams. 
With hope and pleasure's brightest gleams? 



30 IlOSETTA. 

"I swore to you by yonder star," 
He said, "I would outlive this war, 
And when I came would claim you then, 
And we would never part again. 
Now when the evening scarce from siglifc 
Still lingers on the skirts of night. 
And yonder shining orb you see, 
I pray you then remember me. 
To-morrow's sun shall scarcely rise 
'£o gild the azure eastern skies. 
Or herald forth the new-born day. 
Before I shall pursue my way. 
Rosetta, rise at early dawn. 
When dew-drops sparkle on the lawn, 
And long light shakes across the sky. 
And we '11 exchange a fond good-by." 



ROSETTA. 31 

She laid again her head to rest 
Upon his young but manly breast; 
lie smoothed her black and waving hair, 
And bid her discard every care. 
The shining stars in silver shrouds 
Concealed themselves behind the clouds; 
And true the smiling queen of night 
Behind a cloud shut off her light — 
Would not intrude her shining face 
Where lovers stood in fond embrace. 



GhapfeeP in, 



THE morrow's sun, with beams unshorn 
By cloud or speck, called forth the morn, 
Which lingered in a golden sheen 
On tinted leaves and meado^vs green ; 
The shining dew-drops flashed the ray 
Of rosy-tinted, blushing May 
Ten thousand ways the grass upon, 
Like diamonds sparkling in the sun ; 
The mocking-bird and warbling thrush 
Sung sweet cadences from a bush 
That filled the breezy breath of day 
And made the gilded morning gay. 



36 ROSKTTA. 

Ere yet the rosy, blushing morn 

Herself with beauties did adorn, 

Ptosetta did in silence wait 

To greet her lover at the gate. 

While in the birth of morn she stood, 

A horse came dashing down the road. 

And sitting on his back, erect, 

She saw the one she did expect. 

No knight Avithin the ages gone 

E'er put a brazen armor on 

And rode more proud or bold than he — 

This youth of Southern chivalry; 

No grander army e'er dismaj^ed 

A tyrant than the South displayed 

When from her stolid sleep she rose, 

Like some strong man, to strike her foes. 



ROSETTA. 

When jMars upheld his bloody hand, 
How many from this ''sunny land" 
Lay stiff and cold upon the field 
Before the South her flag would yield! 
Grand Southern flag of red and white, 
You waved o'er many a bloody fight, 
And stood triumphant day by day, 
Supported by ''the boys in gray." 
But then }'ou fell — ah, cruel thought!— 
And all your triumphs came to naught; 
But no dishonor blots your name, 
Nor did your fall bring you to shame ; 
For when you fell to wave no more 
Above the battle's din and roar, 
The South around you moui'ning stood. 
For she had washed you in her blood ; 



38 EOSETTA. 

And though our cause you could not save, 

Nor o'er us as a nation wave, 

Yet we have loved and held thee dear, 

And for thy fall shed many a tear; 

Within our hearts so true and brave 

We've made for thee a hallowed grave 

In which to sleep till thou canst greet 

The realms of fame beyond defeat. 

'' Good morning, love ; I come to tell 

You I must go, and bid farewell 

To all the charms which round me lie ; 

Aw;iy to war, perhaps to die 

Where no kind face will o'er me bend 

To watch where life and death contend. 

Before the earth again shall run 

Her circlinir orbit round the sun, 



ROSETTA. 39 

Before the moon with glowing light 
Shall gild again the dews of night, 
And shed her rays on wood and glen, 
I '11 be with Davis and his men. 
I do not go to write my name 
With blood upon the scroll of fame, 
But go because my country calls 
Me to her aid ere yet she falls. 
Think not because I ^o away 
My mind and heart shall from you stray. 
When in the battle's fiercest strife, 
Where smoke and murder both run rife, 
I '11 think of you, and day and night 
That thought shall nerve my arm to fight. 
On some hard field or bloody plain 
I may be numbered with the slain ; 



40 EOSETTA. 

But what is life to be o'erthrown 

When Southern rights are trampled clown?" 

'•Go, go!" she cried, '^and lend your hand 

To drive oppression from the land 

Which reels bene.ath the sturdy stroke 

Of war and North's oppressive yoke. 

If you love me as you have said, 

Be brave, and have no fear or dread; 

And in the rear-rank never hg, 

But fight close round the Southern flag; 

And if the old flag cliance to fall, 

Torn from its place, by shell a,nd ball, 

Rush where it lies — -all death defy — 

Grasp it again, and plant it high; 

And let your war-cry ever be, 

' The South, Jeff Davis, and Bob Lee ! ' " 



Iv()Si:tta. 41 

"Were I disposed to hold my hand 
From war, I'd go, since you command ; 
For when the foe you bid me fight, 
I know the Southern cause is right. 
That dear ohl flag of white and red, 
Made sacred by the honored dead 
And men who daily waste and give 
Their blood and streno;th that it may live, 
I '11 hold above the battle's din, 
E'en though I die, till it shall vvdn ; 
And if I fall, of strength bereft. 
While foes oppress me right and left, 
I'll shout, e'en in the cannon's month, 
'Jeff Davis and the Sunny South ! ' " 
As this he said he drew quite near, 
And whispered something in her ear. 



42 EOSETTA. 

It must have been of love, for she 

Bhished with becoming modesty. 

She upward raised her sparklhig eye, 

And seemed by that to make reply, 

'^ Enough — your horse — away — ride on." 

One loving kiss, and he was gone. 

She w\atched him till the mountain's height 

Completely shut him from her sight ; 

And then she looked, but looked in vain ; 

Then, turning, wandered home again. 

All day for him her silent grief 

In flowing tears found some relief. 

Like clouds which mar the skies of day 

^' In showers weep themselves avv^ay." . 

Then did the moon in glory rise, 

While yet the sun in barren skies 



ROSETTA. 43 

Lay sinking, like gold-burnislied ore, 
Behind the vernal western shore. 
While thus the sun and moon in lands 
Far distant smote their golden hands, 
Rosetta stole beneath a shade 
Where Night her beauties had displayed; 
And while the stars in beauty shone, 
She watched the glintings of the moon. 
^^'Al^moon, why soarest thou so high 
Across the trackless, star-lit sky? 
To gild the daisies while they sleep ? 
Or watch young maidens when they weep ? 
Turn thou thy sight, moon, away 
From weeping maids and daisies gay, 
And o'er my love with peerless light 
Keep silent watch and ward to-night; 



44 ROSETTA. 

And when he sleeps beneath the sky, 
Unguarded by the human eye, 
draw thou near, and guard him well, 
Thou lovely watch and sentinel 
Of night! And if on rose or thorn 
He sleeps, wake him, ere day is born. 
By ringing blue-bolls at his ear; 
And he will wake if these he hear. 
And when with beams of silver light 
You gild again the dews of night, 
While moonbeams piny upon the deep. 
Then kiss him in bis peaceful sleep." 
Y/hen she had spoken to the moon, 
The old clock tolled the midnight noon 
And in her moon-lit bower there 
She breiithed for him a tearful prayer. 



;ep I¥. 



^TTT WAS in eighteen and sixty-two — 

1 " The boys in gray," " the boys in blue/ 
Had met upon a battle-field 
To test which side its arms would yield. 
The golden sun hung like a ball 
Of fire beneath the azure pall, 
And spread his shining wings of gold 
O'er turrets high and castles old. 
Till nature blazed with burnished hue, 
And made her rocks and mountains new. 
All day the cannon's sullen roar 
Had waked the echoes o'er and o'er, 



48 ROSETTA. 

And sent a deafening sound along 
To chorus with the war god's song. 
E'en while the battle madly waged. 
And each their strongest force engaged, 
The con I est w^as so fierce and long, 
And e.')ch side fought so braA^e and strong, 
The suu stood still above the din 
Of AYJir, to see which side would win. 
And then he sunk behind the west, 
To pillow there his head in rest; 
But as he sunk in western sky, 
Ten thousand soldiers sunk to die. 
They fought heroic. br.*ive, and well, 
And thousands of each number fell; 
But ere the bloody work was done, 
"The boys in gray" the field had won. 



UOSKTTA. 49 

Upon that field of blood-bonglit f;nne — 

Where gained the Southern boys a name, 

Which will forever sound along 

Time's corridors in Southern song — 

A youth lay stretched upon the ground, 

His life-blood flowing from a wound 

He had received that fearful day 

While fighting for that sacred "Gray." 

His thick and auburn curly hair 

Lay scattered o'er his forehead f^iir, 

His face upturned lay to the sky; 

And to the moon he breathed a sigh, 

As she in regal beauty slione 

Above the work that war had done, 

And poured her peerless silver flood 

Of light above this field of blood : 
4^ 



50 ROSETTA. 

"Ah! dost thou, moon, in splendor rise 
To light thy pathway through the skies? 
Or dost thou soar so high above 
To watch my bright-eyed lady love? 
You canno!: tail to know her, moon — - 
Her cheeks are like the rose of June, 
And eyes as bright as yonder star 
That glitters in its home so far; 
Her voice, so sweet and pure and gay, 
Is like the sounds which die away 
Upon the waters — from a string 
Of gold — when merry mermaids sing. 
If such you see, while high you soar, 
It is the one Avhom I adore ; 
Then tell her with a kiss for me 
That she no more my face will see. 



ROSETTA. /31 

Tell her that now I wounded lie 
Upon the battle-field to die ; 
But that I fought with all my might 
Within the hottest of the fight, 
And that I did no duty shun, 
Nor fell until the field was won. 
' The blue boys' bravely fought, but fell 
Before the Southern shot and shell, 
Like mist of morn which fades away 
Before the piercing god of day. 
Tell her I saw our flag wave high, 
I heard the Southern battle-cry, 
"Sweet Sunny South," and with delight 
Saw victory kiss the red and white. 
Tell her that when my fleeting breath 
Warned me to feel the touch of death — 



52 ROSETTA. 

Even while life's sands were falling fast — 

I loved her fondly to the last." 

The moon looked brightly from the sky, 

And seemed to nod a sweet reply, 

Then, smiling in his hnggnrd face, 

Rolled on through boundless fields of space. 

A comrade in that battle wild 

Bent o'er this wounded Southern child, 

And smoothed his locks of curly hair 

With soldier love and soldier care. 

" Why speak you thus ? " he watching said, 

^' You will not die, nor yet are dead ; 

Before the moon three times shall wane. 

You '11 see your home and friends again; 

To-morrow's sun shall scarce be risen 

From out his Oriental prison. 



ROSETTA. 53 

To light another new-born day, 

Before you shall be on the way 

To those you love." He held the hands 

Of him struck down, and watched the sands 

Of life move on, and knew with joy 

That death claimed not this wounded boy. 

With gentle hands he gently bound 

And stanched the bleeding, ugly wound, 

And did untiring vigil keep. 

While Henry nursed his thoughts in sleep. 

When ills and sickness evermore 

With pain oppress the body sore, 

Or downward press the hejirt with grief, 

Dame Nature gives her sweet relief; 

Sweet, balmy sleep — that placid stream 

Where all may lose their cares in dream. 



54 ROSETTA. 

The prince, the peasant, and the poor, 
Of every clime and every shore, 
Ilnve each a right to claim repose 
In sleep, and rid themselves of woes. 
The sleep of king is not more sweet 
Than serfs who slumber at his feet; 
Nor brio'hter dreams or visions sees 
Than he who sleeps beneath the trees. 
Rank nor position, place nor name. 
Can e'er monopolize or claim 
The whole of sleep. For when bereft 
Of all he had, old Adam left 
The priceless thing to each and all — 
'T was all he saved from out his fall. 
Young Henry in his dreams that nigh 
A vision saw, and with delight. 



ROSETTA. 65 

The form of her he fondly loved, 

He thought, stood by with smile unmoved. 

He gnzed into her happy face, 

And reached to get a kind embrace, 

But quick she faded from his sight, 

Like mist before the morning light. 

'T is so with fortune : every day 

We see her frisking by the way 

Of life, but when to her draw nigh, 

She shies around and passes by. 

A foolish thing indeed 'twill seem 

To say that life is like a dream ; 

But life consists, as each must find, 

In mere delusions of the mind. 

We dream the dream of love to-day, 

To-morrow see it fade away. 



66 E.USETTA. 

And leave the hea,rt both cold and cliill^ 

Without one animating^ thrill. 

Now build we high the hall of fame^ 

And rear a statue to our name; 

But ere the world through gilded doors 

Wnlks on its tessellated floors, 

And to our name gives pomp and sound^ 

The whole thing topples to the ground. 

The dre.ara of life, with prospect bright, 

Aliiires the mind, enchants the sight; 

We grasp — the substance fades in air, 

Nor even leaves a shadow there. 

From childhood on life's beaten track, ' 

Where memory ever turns us back, 

We see on every hill and slope 

The bones and ghost of some dead hope. 



RoSETTxV. 57 

Where are the childish pleasures sweet 
We chased on sportive boyish feet, 
When we from morn to night would rove 
O'er hill"by laughing brook and grove, 
Where notes would float on every breeze 
From dryads singing in the trees ? 
Alas ! those childish joj's h;ive fled. 
And every treasured hope is dead; 
While through the dim and misty past 
Those childish hopes which could not last 
Are sounding, through the aisle of time, 
And telling with a voice sublime 
That every earthly hope and plan 
Peculiar to the mind of man 
Will fade like visions in a dream. 
Or snow-dro[)S on a rapid strean]. 



58 IIOSETTA. 

How foolish then for man to strive 
To make his name and deeds survive 
His death. 'T is but an idle aim 
To be forever chasing fame ; 
'T is true she leads a merry race 
To those who seek to see her face, . 
And lures them on from day to day 
With prospects grand and colors gay. 
And makes each road and pathway sweet 
By strewing flowers round their feet ; 
But then the grand and gay of life 
Form nothing but a two-edged knife, 
Whose polished blade and bloody use 
Lie hid beneath the folds of truce, 
And traitor-like must soon detest 
And stab the heart which loved it best. 



E.OSETTA. 59 

When in the bough the mocking-bu'd, 

The South's sweet songster's voice, ^Yas heard, 

Ere yet the golden, blazing sun 

Had ris'n his shining course to run, 

Young Henry, who had left his home 

And gone on fields of war to roam, 

Now turned his weary footsteps round. 

And started homeward to the ground 

Endeared to him by many a trace 

Of friendship, and a smiling face 

Whose smiles to him had been a joy 

And pleasure since he was a boy. 

'T was then he learned to love this 2;irl, 

Her rosy cheek and flowing curl; 

And too, beneath the rustic shade 

Which fell ath\Yart the gi'assy glade. 



60 ROSETTA. 

How oft had he in days gone by 
Gazed in her girlish, sparkling eye, 
And read the (ale of love it tohl — 
Which, told and told, had ne'er grown old 
But gave his heart the same deliglit 
When spoken last as on the night 
When all the world was lost in dreams, 
And fairies sported on the streams, 
He pointed to the world above 
And swore to her his righteous love. 
Now while these days he'd left behind 
Through mem'ry rushed upon bis mind, 
A sense of joy his bosom filled. 
And every chord of nature thrilled. 
Ah ! who has never felt as much 
From memory's sw^eet and tender touch ? 



ROSETTA. Gl 

Sweet memory, regnant queen wlio swnys 
The scepter of departed days, 
And ever keeps before our sight 
The deeds of darkness and of light, 
Thou art of earth the joy most dear 
To those who love and labor here ; 
But then to him whose sinful heart 
Is seared by crime in every part, 
Thou ever wilt his life annoy. 
And prove a curse instead of joy. 
No one c<an e'er his punishment 
From thee escape by mere consent ; 
For when the world is lost in sleep, 
And silence broods profoundly deep, 
Thou ever wilt the felon's knife 
Hold up which drank the blood of life, 



62 ROSETTA. 

And make thy never-ceasing tones 
Grate on his ear the victim's groans, 
And show him in death's cold embrace 
The wan and lifeless, pallid face. 
Bat then to those w^hose lives are spent 
In love, thou art an angel sent 
To gather food from days behind, 
Wherewith to feed the pious mind. 
And it was thus with that poor boy — 
He seemed to find a precious joy 
In thinking of the dear old place 
Where he had left that smiling face ; 
But as he to her home drew near, 
So close that he her voice could hear, 
So weary were his limbs that day. 
He, wounded, fainted by the ^yay. 




6X^^i^^ 



ahapfeep ¥. 



THE god of day had sunk to rest 
Amid a golden, burning west — 
The traces of the light he shed 
While erst the earth his beams o'erspreni" 
And while he then reposed in state 
Beyond the golden sunset gate, 
Within the sky that eve of June 
The stars stood gazing at the moon ; 
And as she shed her tender love 
In silver rays from high above, 
Rosetta walked within the light 
Thrown by this peerless queen of night 



66 "^'"r^ HOSETTA. 

To earth. Amid this lovely scene 

A giant oak, with foliage green, 

And head proud-lifted, grand, sublime, 

Stood gazing down the aisle of time. 

She paused beneath this aged tree, 

Which at a glance could ages see, 

But had no tongue wherewith to tell 

Its tale of time — grim sentinel. 

'T was midnight's holy, solemn hour 

When she stood 'neath this moon-lit bower, 

And in the solemn silence there 

She knelt and breathed to God a prayer, 

" That he w^ould guide the one away, 

And to her send him home some day 

A soldier-boy of high renown. 

And on his forehead honor's crown," 



ROSETTA. G7 

She prayed with all the tender love 

That could a girl's devotion prove, 

While silence reigned calm and serene, 

A benediction on the scene ; 

And while she prayed to God above 

This prayer of faith, this prayer of love, 

There mingled with her lovely tone 

A human sigh, a human groan. 

She quickly rose upon her feet, 

Ere yet her prayer was half complete. 

And looked across the dew-drenched lawn 

Like some wild, startled woodland f^iwn. 

While stood she gazing there in fear, 

Again it smote upon her ear. 

And though it seemed a death-like voice, 

It made her girlish heart reioice ; 



G8 ROSETTA. 

For in that painful, death-like groan 
There seemed to her to be a tone 
Which she had heard, and knew full well, 
But when and where she could not tell. 
There seems to hang about the mind 
And heart and life of all mankind 
Some mem'ries which will vaguely come 
To us from out their secret home, 
And tell us of some tone or face 
Which we have known, but at what place 
We cannot tell. They always seem 
Like some wild, fleeting, childish dream, 
But bring to us a kind of joy 
Which knows no pain, knows no alloy. 
She bounded o'er the moon-lit ground 
To where she heard the pg,inful sound, 



IIOSETTA. 69 

And, lying in the moonlight there, 

She saw a face — 't was lovely, ftiir. 

Although 't was haggard, pale, and worn, 

And of its finer texture shorn, 

It did a charm and grace reveal 

Which pain could not nor would conceal. 

Into that face upturned to sky 

She gazed and gazed with steady eye. 

Until a cry she could not keep 

Roused him from out his stolid sleep. 

"Ah ! is it you ? " he groaning said. 

And, doubting, rubbed his curly head; 

" Or is it but another dream. 

In which your lovely face I seem 

To see? A dream it cannot be. 

I know your rosy cheeks I see. 



70 ROSETTA. 

For thou art standing closely near, 

And I your angel voice can hear." 

She bended o'er his prostrate frame, 

And whispered in his ear her name, 

" Rosetta," and with joy and bliss 

She gave to him one precious kiss. 

She raised him to his weary feet, 

And said to him, wdth voice so sweet, 

"• Lean on this arm, which lives for thee, 

And it a strong support shall be ; 

For in this hour 't will me behoove 

To chng the closer to thy love." 

Him to her father's house she led, 

And showed him to a downy bed; 

Then through the night's dead stillness there 

She watched while he slept free from care ; 



ROSETTA. 71 

And when the sun fresh from the east 

Spread o'er the earth a golden feast 

Of light, she lingered near his side, 

And kissed his lips with jealous pride; 

And 't was to her a constant joy 

To nurse this wounded soldier-boy. 

She soothed his many pains and cares, 

And bathed his brow with loving tears. 

What is there 'neath the world above 

Can e'er excel a woman's love ? 

Or what within the hollow span 

Of earth excels the love of man? 

When man, oppressed by cares, cast dovvR 

By grief, when ev'ry hope has flown, 

Or falls upon life's rugged hills, 

Sweet woman whispers, '^ Peace," and stills 



72 EOSETTA. 

The tempest in his raging breast, 

And gives him too his wonted rest, 

And with her own strong hands will roll 

The weight from off the human soul. 

She nobly works with willing hands, 

While man looks on and idly stands. 

We see her soothing care and strife 

In ev'ry avenue of life 

When she can any means employ 

Whereby to add to human joy. 

And as an angel will adorn 

Our homes, and make our lives a morn 

From youth to age, where sparkling streams 

Of love flow through our various dreams. 

Could Heaven give a sweeter joy 

Unto this wounded soldier-boy 



ROSETTA. 73 

Than placing him, while stricken, there 
Beneath his love's protecting care, 
Where he could see her fair, sweet face, 
With rosy smile and angel grace. 
Which wooed his senses day by day, 
And charmed his pain and care away ? 
What can w^e find to quicker cure 
The ill the soul can scarce endure, 
Or charm away deceit and guile, 
Than woman's fascinating smile ? 
There is a power hidden there 
Behind her smile, so lovely fair, 
Man can't resist or disregard. 
Strive how he may, strive he how hard. 
When Henry lay distressed by pain. 
And turned him o'er and o'er a2:ain. 



74 ROSETTA. 

Like some storm-ridden bark which braves 
The fierce contending ocean waves, 
Rosetta's smiUng face and form 
Were like sunshine with cloud and storm. 
The lovely girl soon nursed him w^ell 
Of all the wounds by which he fell, 
And many happy hours had they 
Among the fields and flowers gay. 
Sometimes they 'd wander to a hill, 
At whose broad base a rippling rill 
Meandered on in cheerful glee 
Through groves and meadows to the sea ; 
Then, turning to the vale below. 
They'd watch the blossoms nod and blow 
Along the brook where lilies teem, 
And bending kiss the laughing stream. 



ROSETTA. 75 

One day, when they had wandered long 
The valleys and the hills among, 
They, wearied, sat them down to rest, 
And Avatched two robins build a nest. 
" We '11 build a home like that some day, 
When I once more have gone away 
To war, and then returned to thee," 
He said to her, quite modestly. 
The words to her he did impart 
Of leaving struck into her heart 
Like some sharp dagger heated red. 
And turning round, she quickly said, 
^^0 do not say you go again ! 
I am afraid you will be slain." 
And with the thought that he might die, 
She softly soon began to cry. 



76 ROSETTA. 

'' Rosetta, cease to spend your tears ; 
Of being slain I have no fears. 
To-morrow morn I go awny, 
But only go two years to sta3^" 
He raised her then upon her feet, 
And left the grassy, cool retreat, 
And wandered home, just as the stars 
Sent forth their shining silver bars 
Of lovely light, and day withdrew 
For night to baptize earth with dew. 



dtiapteF ¥1. 



^|Tf IS summer's eve; the golden rim 

i Of sunset glows above the dim 
Of distant clouds, now floating 'way 
In lazy line at close of day. 
The mocking-bird has hushed his song 
Of joy and mirth, which all day long 
Has floated on the scented breeze 
From hill and vale to woodland trees, 
And now sits in submissive mood ; 
For ev'ry sound has been subdued 
In nature, if except we one 
Which even now is floating ou 



80 ROSETTA. 

In lovely strains— not fierce or wild, 

Nor weak as if they from a child 

Did come ; but 't is a maid who sings, 

And on the night's dead stillness rings 

Her voice, so sweet, so pure and clear — 

It is Rosetta's voice we hear. 

Wooed by the night's enchanting hour. 

She sits a victim to its powder, 

And with a voice not loud but strong 

In pensive joy she sings this song : 

I am sitting by my window to-niglit, love; 

Gems Jire setting in the sky ; 
The proud queen of night is smiling from above, 

As the stars she gayly passes by. 

While the heavens are aglow with her peerless light, 

And the sparkling beams so free 
Are falling from the gems in the crown of night, 

I an) thinkii^ig, d:\rUng one, of thee, 



ROSETTA. 81 

'Tis sweet, O liow sweet, to sit and fondly think 

Of tlie happy days of yore, 
Wlieii beside the sparkling stream upon its brink, 

We would tell our young love o'er and o'er! 

how happy were we, sitting there alone! 
And to-niglit my heart would fain 

To turn the tide of time, if such could be done. 
And live those sweet days o'er again. 

But the blighting hand of war has cursed this land, 

And has cast our lives apart ; 
But we will meet again, because affection's band 

Closely binds mine to your loving heart. 

But should fate so decree that we shall never meet. 
And us happiness deny, 

1 will oft steal at night to our sweet retreat, 
Where we 've sat in happy days gone by. 



82 ROSETTA. 

I']l sit and fondly wait; your footsteps drawing near 

Tell me your form is nigli, 
Or your gay, merry laugh the breezes shall bear, 

As they frisking gayly pass me by. 

When there I 've waited long, O should you then not 
I will kii )w I 've lost your love; [come. 

That you are wrapped in death, and a happy home 
Have found with the shining ones above. 

She sung this song now o'er and o'er^, 
As if her soul she did outpour; 
For something in it made her feel 
A strange delight she would reveal 
That night, for 't was his time to come 
Aorain unto his childhood's home. 

o 

And as she sweetly sung this song, 
To greet him as he came along 
The gravel-walk where often I 
Have seen him walk in days gone by 5. 



ROSETTA. 83 

All nature hushed its noisy sound, 

And listened ia silence profound. 

But as she sat and waited there, 

Expecting soon his steps to hear, 

His voice and footsteps sounded not 

Upon the old, familiar spot, 

But in his stead a letter came 

Which bore to her his words and name. 

The servant placed it in her hand, 

And then withdrew, at her command. 

She, doubting then 'twixt hopes and fears. 

Upon it freely shed her tears; 

Then tore it from its feeble case. 

And through her blinding tears did trace 

These lines : 

Rosetta, darling of my heart, 

'T is sad to think that we must part 



84 ROSETTA. 

Forever ; but, my lovely one, 
My race of time is almost done. 
To-day we fouglit a fearful fight 
From sunrise till the sliades of niglit, 
And when the sun sunk in the sky 
Both friend and foe sunk down to die; 
And even now my feeble breath 
Tells me I'm wounded unto death ; 
But God is good, and high above 
This earth I shall expect your love 
To make me haj^py in that home 
Where death and partings never coaie. 
I feel, I know that I shall ne'er 
Again your lovely accents hear, 
That death our ev'ry hope will blast, 
But still I love thee to the last ; 
And even now I fondly press 
Unto my lips that lovely tress 



PtOSETTA. 85 

Of curly hair I stole from tliee 
That night we stood beneath that tree, 
When o'er the hill and brook and wood 
The moon poured her bewitching flood, 
And from the star-lit, aznre sky 
Smiled on my theft, then, passed us by. 
Live thou in peace, sweet, gentle maid ; 
The hand of death cannot be staid 
By any thing, not e'en by love ; 
Then meet me in the \Yorld above, 
For ere these lines you shall have read 
I will be sleeping with the dead. 

Henry. 

She gave one wild, despairing shriek, 
As if her pure young heart would break ; 
Then prostrate fell she from her chair, 
As if death's hand had touched her there. 



86 ROSETTA. 

She suffered-^how much who can know ?- 
From this one awful, fearful blow. 
Like some tall tree which cannot stand 
Amid the storm by self-command 
Erect, but ever shifts and bends 
Before the rushing, driving winds, 
Her spirit bent. There is a grief 
Which to my mind finds no relief — 
A painless pang time cannot kill, 
Nor make the waves of woe be still: 
'T is when the heart has fondly loved 
Some object which has ever moved 
The nobler parts. Then cruel fate 
With ruthless hand would soon or late, 
Beholding that we loved it best, 
Tear it from out the yearning breast, 



ROSETTA. 87 

And break each sweet vibrating string 
By which the heart to it would cling. 
The strong oak when its head is bowed 
Before the northern wind and cloud , 
Can, when the chilUng wind and blast 
And all the weather rough has passed. 
Erect again hold up its form, 
And show no scars from wind and storm ; 
The country o'er whose flow'ry land 
Grim w^ar has stretched its wretched hand 
Can soon recover from its doom. 
And then again in beauty bloom; 
But when the heart is made to feel 
The wounds which disappointments deal 
In love, I think and say that none 
From out the millions — no, not one — 



88 ROSETTA. 

Whose heart has e'er been made to move 
In sweet response to mutual loA^e 
Can, when they feel misfortune's hand^ 
Again ijiat sense of love command. 
Let prudes and bigots all despise 
The sweet impulses which arise ; 
But once when human love is hushed, 
Man's better nature has been crushed. 



.a*Jil|Ci-5, 




S^#f^«^^ 



G^apteF ¥11, 



TIME swiftly flew — the war had closed, 
The South once more in peace reposed, 
But thousands of the brave who stood 
Upon her fields dyed red with blood 
Have never come to greet their place 
Of birth and mother's fond embrace. 
Brave boys they fell — brave, noble band — 
Fell by the North's invading hand ; 
Gave to the evil powers of might 
Their lives for that they knew w^as right. 
Ah ! many a mother heaved a sigh 
As home-returning flanks went by, • 



92 ROSETTA. 

When looking o'er the list who came 
She could not find her sweet boy's name ! 
And trusting then 'twixt hope and fear, 
She would of those ask standing there, 
" Can some one. tell me when my son — 
He went away in sixty-one — 
Will be at home ? " Some one would say, 
" In sixty-one he went away ? 
Now let me see, perhaps I Ve known 
This boy of yours ; it was n't Tom Brown ? " 
" yes it was ! pray tell me when 
I '11 see my darling boy again." 
^^Your son? iih yes, I knew him well; 
I 've heard him round the camp-fire tell 
His jokes and yarns, and tales of fun, 
When^weeks of marching had been done. 



ROSETTA. 93 

And then again we hand in hand 

Have marched o'er fields of bloody sand, 

And fought on plains of death and blood, 

Where "blue" and "gray" alike have stood 

The galling fire as brave as he 

Who fought at Greece's mountain-key; 

But ere the "bloody war" had passed, 

Tom Brown, good soul, fell — shot at last — 

Fell in my arms, shot through the head, 

And when he spoke these words, was dead : 

" Bill, " as he fell, he said to me, 

" If mother's face you ever see, 

Tell her Tom Brown her son is gone — 

Died in the fight, his ' harness on ; ' 

That let the South be wrong or right, 

I came to strive for her, and fight 



94 ROSETTA. 

For what I think is true and just; 
And since I have to ' bite the dust/ 
I'm proud I left my home and came 
To die, e'en for the South's sweet name." 
This told, that aged heart was wild 
With grief, because she knew her child 
Was gone. Grim war had stuck its dart 
Into a Southern, loving heart. 
Among the ones who did not come 
Again to greet their boyhood's home 
At close of war was Henry; yet 
Rosetta did not him forget, 
But kept the field of memory green 
With thoughts that he would come again. 
When disappointment spreads its wings 
Above the heart, and o'er it flings 



E-OSETTA. 95 

Its dark'ning shades, there springs a love 
Which all the pow'rs of earth can't move 
To doubts and fears — joined with a hope 
Which holds it, like the anchor's rope, 
Securely bound and firmly tight 
Amid the darkest storms of night. 
And when Rosetta's heart grew weak, 
T was then this hope would to her speak, 
And bring before her doubting gaze 
The happy scenes of by-gone days. 
When she and Henry all the day 
Would chase the idle hours away. 
Two years sped on, and still he staid. 
Another lover to the maid 
Poured forth his love in accent sweet, 
And knelt beseeching: at her feet. 



96 ROSETTA. 

He pressed his suit unto her long, 
And sung to her full many a song 
Of joy and love as hours flew by. 
She unto him made this reply : 
"No one I cannot, will not wed 
Until I know my love is dead; 
And then, if give him up I must, 
I'll pour my tears upon his dust. 
At morning and at dose of day 
I '11 go my weary, lonely way, 
And gather roses from the grove 
Where first he pledged to me his love, 
And with a heart both true and brave 
I '11 scatter them above his grave." 
"He cannot come," this lover said; 
"The war has closed, and he is dead, 



IIOSETTA. 97 

Oi* else lonof since he would have come 
To see again his friends and home. 
Then wliy will you thus fling away 
Your time and love in youth's bright day 
Upon an object which to you 
Is dead, if reason's tale be true? 
No doubt you loved this lover dear, 
And for his fate shed many a tear ; 
But when love's visions swift retreat, 
Why cling to hope barred by defeat? 
I give to you my heart and haixl ; 
I place myself at your command ; 
I hold to you both wealth and fame. 
And give to you an honored name ; 
I give to you a lovely home 
Excelled b}^ none 'neath heaven's dome. 



98 EOSETTA. 

This happy home of which I speak 
Is one a fliiry well might seek. 
It stands within a lovely spot, 
Where bloom the sweet forget-me-not 
And roses red as sunset sky 
That kiss the breezes passing by. 
Close by the gate a laughing stream, 
Whose rippling w\aters all day seem 
To sport and play in meriy glee, 
Flows onward, onward to the sea; 
Upon its banks a mountain high 
Its head lifts in ethereal sky, 
At whose broad base sweet flowers dwell 
That always coming spring-time tell. 
In such a happy home as this 
Life would be but a field of bliss, 



ROSETTA. 

O'er which from morn to night we'd rove, 
And pluck the flowers of wedded love. 
I know^ you loved the other one 
In happy days which now have gone; 
But since he 's gone, you only will 
That you should love his mem'ry still." 
And thus he pleaded for his love, 
To see if he her heart could move. 
She looked into his dark-blue eye, 
And then to him made this reply: 
^'I know that many days have passed 
Since with my eyes I saw him last, 
But I can see him in my dreams 
As plain as day, to me it seems. 
I long have nursed the happy thought 
That he would come w^ith hoiioi's boimht 

o 



100 ROSETTA. 

In war, and claim me as his bride 
With joy and love and soldier pride. 
But should I to your suit perchance 
Give ear, the very circumstance 
That I love him, preferred to you 
If he were here, would make you view 
Me as a wretch not worth 3^our trust, 
And change your love to pure disgust." 
*' Indeed, not so ! " he quickly said. 
"I know your love has long been fed 
With hopes that he would soon return, 
Which made you other lovers spurn." 
*^ It seems he tarries long," she said, 
^'And I 've good cause to think him dead ; 
But you I 'd only wed in part — 
You 'd have my hand, he 'd have my heart. 



IIOSETTA. 101 

If you deem not such love a cheat, 
I throw it humbly at 3^0 ur feet." 
At last he said : " Let it be true ; 
But you will wed and love me too, 
When in the future you shall find 
That mem'ry only calls to mind 
Dead shadows gone, and only brings 
You ghosts of former happy things." 
^^0 yes," she said; ^* I then will you 
As freely love, and be as true 
As any woman's heart can be. 
If him I lose, by fate's decree, 
Whom first I loved. Then be content; 
Although my love is well-nigh spent, 
I will rechiim enough to give 
You joy and peace while you may live. 



1()2 ROSETTA. 

I fear he 's dead, but I will wait, 
To see if be tbrongb yonder gate 
Sball come again at close of day 
To wbile the ev'ning bours away. 
And wben tbe buds are on tbe trees, 
And fragrant fumes float on tbe breeze 
Wbich tell of merry, glndsome May, 
If be comes not, but stays away, 
I '11 wed to you my band and heart, 
And peace and love which shall not part." 
Wben thus she spoke his joy was wild, 
And with a lover's joy he smiled 
A smile of love, like that of Jove's 
Wben through the sweet Olympic groves 
lie first obeyed love's stern behest, 
And folded Juno to bis breast, 



ROSETTA. 103 

Then with his godly face upturned, 
That moment worlds and planets spurned 
As worthless thing's within his sii>:ht — 
Such was his joy, such his delight. 
I hold that chains which anchors bind 
To ships tossed by the driving wind 
Would sooner from their places move 
Than that bright golden cord of love 
Which lives between two hearts, and holds 
Them firmly bound in tightening folds. 
And w^hat is love ? Let him who can 
The sunlight weigh and systems scan. 
Or say Avhy worlds at dilFerent pace 
Go whirling through eternal space, 
Why yonder planets ever run 
Their lonesome courses round the sun, 



104 ROSETTA. 

Or why the roses from the earth 
Burst forth to life from secret birth, 
Or tell why shafts of lightning fly 
With marv'lous swiftness through the sky. 
May view this world and that above, 
Then tell us what we mean by love. 



GhaptieP fill. 



AURORA from the shining east 
Herself from slumbers had released. 
And with her golden fingers bright 
Had torn away the veil of night. 
Through Avhich the proud, resplendent sun 
Burst forth his daily course to run. 
'T is spring : the drops of golden dew 
Bedeck the grass with em' raid hue, 
And scintillate the golden rays 
Of sparkling light ten thousand ways. 
Sweet roses tipped with red and green 
In every waving field are seen, 



108 R0SETT^\. 

And myriad birds and insects sing 
To tell of merry-making spring. 
The large magnolias, spotless white — 
Whose hollow tubes contain some sprite 
Or woodland fay — are waving high 
As gayly winds go frisking by. 
This is the South, now all aglow 
With an enchanting floral show — 
The very paradise of earth, 
Where loveliness first had its birth. 
The sun with scintillating rays 
O'er many a field of verdure plnys, 
And on the field of weaving green 
Spreads out a golden shimmering sheen ; 
The soft beams kiss the lilies here, 
And linixer on the roses there. 



EOSETTA. 109 

It is within the South a time 

Peculiar to her lovely clime. 

Her noble women — shall I dare 

E'en with my pen to touch the fair 

And lovely creatures of this land, 

Where nature with a willing hand 

Has given a clime w^hich powers possess 

To range their cheeks with loveliness 

Such as no Oriental dame 

Can proudly boast or justly claim ? 

Rosetta's love, who went aw^ay 

To w\ar, still lingers ; and to-day 

Upon her father's large estate 

There are the fair, the brave, the great, 

Who drink and feast, and all rejoice 

To see her wed in love her choice ; 



110 ROSETTA. 

For none of them know that her heart 

lias wounded been by sorrow's dart. 

Four lovely maids — all Southern girls — 

With hnir profuse in waving curls 

O'er snowy shoulders falling down, 

Some auburn-gold, some black, some brown. 

Are weaving garlands for the hair 

Of her who is the bride. And there 

Are others too, as sweet as they 

Who weave the flowers, dressed as gay 

As butterflies ; and they are now. 

In flowing robes as white as snow, 

Close by her side as loving friends 

Who feel the honor she extends 

To them as waiting-maids in this 

Her introduction to the bliss 



HOSETTA. Ill 

Of married life. This lovely throng 
Of female beauty moves along 
Into a fine and spacious room 
Where wait the minister and groom 
With other guests who kindly lend 
On this occasion to their friend 
Their presence ; they congratulate 
Him on the joys which him await. 
The groom advances to the side 
Of her his love, of her his bride, 
And takes in his her soft white hand ; 
Those seated round now upward stand; 
The sacred preacher humbly kneels, 
And to the God of heaven appeals 
A prayer of faith, ^^ that he Avill guide 
Upon the surging restless tide 



112 ROSETTA. 

Of life this biirk, so soon to sjiil 

Among the tempest wind and gale; 

And prays that when life's golden sun 

Its course of time for them has run, 

The}^ twain may find a peaceful rest 

Within that haven of the blest 

From whose bright sands and silver shore 

Sails set toward the earth no more." 

He rose again, this sacred man, 

And in a rev'rent tone began : 

^' Wilt thou take her whose hand you hold 

To love while young, to love when old ? 

And wilt thou always cherish her 

Above nil others, and prefer 

Her charms and graces evermore ? " 

But no^v he stops, for in the door 



EOSETTA. 11 

There comes a poor-appareled guest — 
Not finely clad like all the rest ; 
His face is haggard, woe-begone, 
" He has no wedding-garment on." 
He only paused a moment there, 
Then gave one look of wild despair, 
And forward rushed, o'ercome complete, 
Fell prostrate at liosetta's feet. 
Unconscious la}^ he in that hall; 
The house is now confusion all. 
Rosetta's father, white with -Age, 
But youthful now from livid rage, 
Commands his servants to appear — 
Some twenty strong — and offward bear 
This uninvited guest away 
Who had disturbed their wedding-day. 



o 



114 ROSETTA. 

The servants, swift to do their task, 

Or any thing their masters ask, 

Quick seize the man — old, young, and small — 

To bear him from the festive hall ; 

But as they bore him thus aside. 

His sea-blue eyes both opened wide, 

And in their pensive, vacant gaze 

Rosetta saw what she in days 

Gone by had loved — that heart and soul 

Which held her own in sweet control. 

A look of love her f'lce o'ercast: 

'' My God ! " she cried. ^^At last, at hist ! " 

She spoke no more, but waved her hand ; 

The servants knew 't was some command. 

And downward did the stranger lay, 

And quick betook themselves away. 



ROSETTA. 115 

Yes, he had gone while they were young, 

But still her memory round him clung; 

And recollection oft would tell 

Her of the one she loved so well. 

Long years had passed, far time had sped, 

And she had almost mourned him dead ; 

But now to-day to her he came 

To pledge anew his heart and cLiim 

Hers in return. She smoothed the hair 

Upon his brow, Avbere rugged care, 

Through years of suffering, left its trace 

Upon his noble, manly face. 

" Struck down upon the bloody plain, 

Long weeks and months I've wounded lain 

But then I could not death embrace, 

Till I again had seen your face. 



116 ROSETTA. 

One night I slept — I had a dream : 
I thought we stood beside a stream, 
And watched its sparkling w^aters flow 
Through fields where buds and roses grow. 
I thought I took a blossom there 
And twined it in your raven hair, 
But as to you some word I spoke, 
From out my troubled sleep I woke, 
To find that I was all alone — 
My dream of happiness had flown. 
I looked out through my window there : 
The enrth that moment was so fnir, 
Stretched out beneath the moon-lit sky, 
It seemed to me I could not die. 
And though I suffered much nnd long, 
I knew the arm of God was strong; 



ROSETTA. • 117 

He strengthened me when hope had gone, 

And 't was his hand that led me on." 

^' Yes, yes ! " she cried ; and on his breast 

She laid her raven locks to rest, 

And strives each day her heart to prove, 

While through his kiss she whispers, " Love." 

I hold there is a Power above, 

That infidels cannot disprove. 

Who operates His love unspent. 

And recognizes each event 

Of life. Then why ourselves deceive 

By saying that w^e can't believe 

Because there is a mystery 

Through which we mortals cannot see ? 

There 's mystery in every breeze 

Which circulates among the trees. 



118 ROSETTA. 

And one in ev'ry bud and rose, 

And ev'ry thing that lives or grows. 

Look where you may, on ev'ry hill, 

In ev'ry bubbling, flowing rill, 

'Neath ev'ry sky, in ev'ry land. 

And strangeness spreads on ev'iy hand. 

Then shall we say, because this thing 

Or that no explanations bring, 

That all is flilse, and none is true, 

This thing 's a fraud, and that won't do ? 

Nonsense ! The strangeness which subsists 

Beside the Cause proves there exists 

The Grand Effect concealed behind, 

And which the finite human mind 

Can never see, no matter when 

It exercise its utmost ken. 



HOSETTA. 



119 



Young Hubert's love-career Avas done — 

He simply lost, and Henry won; 

Quite weary of the world, he hied 

To foreign fields of w^ar, and died — 

As bi-ave a soldier and as Irue 

As he who e'er a saber drew. 

My stoi-y's told — I need not dwell 

Upon Rosetta's joy, nor tell 

The happy man that Henry 's been ; 

But on the desk I lay my pen, 

And leave them in their happiness, 

As those whom Heaven stoops to bless. 



Fixis. 



